“Don’t pick on things smaller than you, Lou,” he said, then picked up the turtle and relocated it to his neighbor’s backyard. His neighbor didn’t have a dog, so he figured the turtle would be a lot more content over there. Then he shuffled Lou into the house.

They ate dinner, then washed dishes together.

“I forgot to ask you earlier. Did you figure out what Lou was barking at?” Chelsea asked while Bash put the last of the pots in the dish rack.

“Yeah. A turtle. Who’s now living in my neighbor’s yard.”

“Aww. That was sweet of you.” She came around to the sink and put her arms around him, laying her cheek against his back.

He stilled for a minute, absorbing her warmth and the tight way she hugged him.

He hadn’t had a lot of love in his life, or a lot of people who had given a shit about him or what he did. His mom had loved him, but she was gone now, which left …

Pretty much no one.

Which didn’t mean Chelsea cared. They’d just had one night, and today. No sense in making more out of it than it was.

He dried his hands and turned around. “Hey, I was only thinking of the turtle. Lou’s not big enough to do any damage, but she was annoying the hell out of it.”

She stepped into his arms, wrapping hers around him. “You’re uncomfortable with people thinking you’re a nice guy.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I never noticed that about you. You taking care of me at the bar the other night and thanking you for it, and me complimenting you about being so sweet with Lou. It makes you uncomfortable when people notice you being nice.”

“No, it doesn’t. Hey, you want to watch some TV after dinner? Or even better, we could go back to bed.” He waggled his brows.

“You also tend to change the subject when it’s about you. Why is that, Bash?”

“I don’t do that.”

“Yes, you do. You’re not a bad guy, you know.”

“For someone who doesn’t meet the criteria on your list?”

Her lips lifted. “Yes. For someone who doesn’t meet the criteria on my list.”

He cupped the side of her neck and kissed her, lost for words around her. There was something about Chelsea that got to him, and he didn’t know what to do about her. So he did the only thing he knew how to do around her—show her how she turned him on, and how happy he was when she was near.

She molded her body to his, which meant he just had to cup her butt, drawing her closer. He lost himself in the softness of her lips, and the sounds she made when they kissed.

A sudden urge to have her, to be inside of her, flashed through him.

He turned her around and bent her over the counter, his hands all over her, and once again heat flared in an instant as she wriggled her butt against him, her drive equaling his. They shed their clothes and he left only long enough to grab a condom, and then he drove inside of her, taking in the sounds she made, the way she moved against him as he thrust deep, then retreated. He reached around to rub her clit, which caused her to moan long and loud as he brought her to a quick orgasm.

Her body tightening around him took him there in a hurry, and he finished off with his legs shaking, his arm wrapped around her.

The things Chelsea did to him made him question his sanity. She shook him to the core and made him want her over and over again.

He flipped her around and kissed her, his tongue diving in as he realized his passion for her hadn’t waned at all.

When he pulled back, she touched her forehead to his. “I need to go.”

“I know.”

She grabbed her clothes and headed into the bathroom to clean up and get dressed. He ducked into the spare bathroom and did the same, giving her some time to catch her breath. Hell, he needed time to catch his breath, too.

When she came out, he was leaning against the kitchen counter drinking a glass of water. She had her bag packed and laid it on the sofa. She came over and grabbed the belt loop of his jeans.

“I had fun,” she said.

“Yeah, me, too.”

He picked up her bag and walked her to her car, opened the door, and slid her bag into the backseat.

This time she grabbed his shirt and hauled him against her, planting a blistering hot kiss on him. It seemed neither of them wanted this night to end, but he took a step back, because if he didn’t walk away he was going to pick her up and carry her inside his house.

And she had her students to think about.

“I’ll see you around, Chelsea,” he said.

She got into her car and closed the door, but rolled the window down.

“Thanks, Bash,” she said.

He nodded, then she backed down his driveway and drove away.

He’d never missed any woman who’d ever left him. Ashamedly, not even his ex-wife.

But once Chelsea left, he realized he already missed her.

That wasn’t a good thing.

Chapter 24

The first one of her friends Chelsea ran into was Megan, because she stopped at the bakery before school on Monday.

“You have to tell me everything about Bash,” Megan said as she slipped a croissant into a bag and then made Chelsea a tall caramel macchiato, which she would then have to spend about six hours working off this week. But she didn’t care. Today called for a caramel macchiato.

“I promise to fill you in, but you have a long line of customers waiting, and I’m going to be late,” Chelsea said, begging off and dashing to school.